


nightmares

by alluringpoehler



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Nightmares, slight hint at anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:47:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24466705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alluringpoehler/pseuds/alluringpoehler
Summary: Ben has nightmares frequently, but when he has a worse one than normal, Leslie's always there.
Relationships: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Comments: 11
Kudos: 28





	nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> prompt from @evansdotmandy

Leslie always stayed up late into the night, which she was used to, but her very lovable boyfriend was not the same.

Ben fell asleep fast every night, which sometimes made her love him more. She got to stay awake and work on projects for her campaign while also watching him sleep. She knew when it was coming, his breath slowed down and he mumbled some words and then was out like a light. 

She smiled down at him and stroked his hair before turning back to her work. She worked for hours on some new ideas that had just started forming and was excited to bring some finished projects to her team the next morning, even though she would be putting a lot of them in place herself.

It was around 2am when she noticed Ben twitching in his sleep. He always slept pretty well, but recently he became restless. She turned to look at him when she noticed he was drenched in sweat. His face kept contorting and he looked like he was on the verge of tears, but he was still asleep.

Leslie became worried fast and she tried to wake him, whispers growing more violent, “Ben?”

***

All Ben could hear was Leslie, but it was never words of encouragement or love, unlike what she normally said.

“You really think you can help me win a City Council Campaign? You’re poison to it. I’ll never win with you as my manager.”

Ben shook his head, trying to get away from it all, but words kept coming from her mouth. He knew he was dreaming, but he couldn’t wake up.

“After Ice Town, you really think you’re going to do any good for this town? For _me_?”

Ben still frantically tried to wake up, but nothing would work.

“I can’t believe you think I love you. No-one loves you. You don’t deserve it.”

Out of all the things said in his nightmares, this was the worst. The woman _he_ loved more than anything, didn’t love him in return. This jolted him right up, not being able to take any more of the nightmare.

He was breathing heavily as he sat up and couldn’t focus on where he was. He noticed the light was still on in his bedroom.

His bedroom. That was a start. He was in his bedroom at Andy and April’s house.

He still tried to gain some grounding when he heard heavy breathing that didn’t match his own and two hands grab his arms.

He flinched violently, breath hitching again. Then he saw blonde hair and worried eyes. _Leslie_.

Ben took a deep breath, finally realizing where he was. Leslie’s arms wrapped around him quickly and he started crying. He hated being emotional, but Leslie always told him that he could be as open as he wanted around her. She knew him more than anyone and he was so grateful for her.

The nightmares came frequently, but he assumed this must have been a violent one from the outside, seeing how worried Leslie was. Ben normally pushed them away, not really believing what they said, but this one hit a lot harder than he expected it to. Normally, the dreams had all been his unconscious thoughts, so he _could_ push them away, but recently everything he had been worried about while he was conscious came back to bite him in his dreams.

Leslie’s campaign was always the top priority. He was always worried about the polls, advertisements, the media, and more specifically, his involvement. He loved Leslie so much and he didn’t want his involvement to hold her back from something that she needed to do. He was afraid that he _was_ poisonous to her campaign, and if he was, he was afraid that she didn’t love him for it.

He didn’t realize he was saying all of this out loud until he felt Leslie’s grip tighten and then she pulled back to look him straight in the eye. She wiped the tears off his face and smiled softly at him, worry still in her eyes, but it slowly began to fade.

“I want you to know that I love you so much. None of this would have been possible without you. You’re the only reason why I’m here. Also, you’re not poison to my campaign. Sure, the polls dipped when our relationship came out, but ever since you became my campaign manager they’ve increased dramatically.” Leslie stopped for a moment to wipe around his face and fix his hair before returning her hands to his cheeks. “You, Benjamin Wyatt, are the man of my dreams and the one that I love. Nothing could stop me from thinking that.”

Ben smiled at her and pulled her in for a kiss. He was speechless, but there was so much he was thinking. He hoped somehow all of his thoughts could transfer through kissing her. Ben didn’t know where the campaign was going to go or how the rest of their lives would pan out, but one thing was for sure.

Ben loved Leslie more than anything and she loved him in return.


End file.
